Mom's New Car! gray market 1980 280E converted to an OM617 turbo diesel
 

Some of you know about me getting a car for my mom
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/321637-san-antonio-drivers-help-motha-out.html

and the demise of said car
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/346032-mom-mobile-down-wrecked-300d.html


Well today I picked up a new car for my mom.
Found this project on craigslist last week, but been kinda holding the news of the car close to my vest until I was actully the owner.

The car is a gray market 1980 280E. Some years back the engine died and the car was sold. The fellow who bought it was a mercedes mechanic. he converted the car to a turbo diesel. The car has all of its original interior and its original 4 speed transmission. This is one of the cleanest interiors I've ever seen. Anyway, the mechanic fellow built the car for his girlfriend. well, things happen, they split up and then the car was in an accdent. Not having the connections she once had she wasn't able to afford the repairs, so she put it up forsale.

She was every happy to hear that the car wasn't going to be parted but built into my moms new car.

Here are some pictures.

Somethings fallowing us home
http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...t/IMG_1830.jpg

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...t/IMG_1835.jpg

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...t/IMG_1833.jpg

I love the pattern on the cloth interior
http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...t/IMG_1832.jpg

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...t/IMG_1834.jpg

The read bumper has some damage. does anyone have experence straightning them?

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...t/IMG_1836.jpg

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...t/IMG_1837.jpg

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...t/IMG_1838.jpg

Here are the detail pics of the damage.

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...t/IMG_1839.jpg

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...t/IMG_1840.jpg

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...t/IMG_1841.jpg

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...t/IMG_1843.jpg

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...t/IMG_1844.jpg

I talked to my friend at the body shop. He said the whole radiator support needs changed. So my next stop will be the pick n pull to cut the nose off a w123.

It's titled as a Diesel? No smog check required?

Sixto
87 300D

Yes! The guy who built it seemed to do it all by the book.

the trunk is so clean :D , how much you paid for it?

Turbo-diesel with a four speed-the best W123 never made. And it's a Euro. Nice! As for the bumper, a PNP replacement would probably be the cheapest and easiest fix. It's like four nuts and forty bucks last time I checked.

That's a nice rust free car. A lotta work to fix it but worth it.;)

Good luck finding a euro bumper a PNP. Most likely your wheels are steel ... but you may have the 6"aluminum hubbies

Good score Nick, the Euro bumpers show up now and then, but I know a couple guys that are there when the cars are being set. they grab parts and e-bay them. so finding parts isn`t so easy sometimes. he told me he sells them for $450 on e-bay.

There are bumper places that do straightening.; I would try to save the bumper. the supply of these is getting smaller every day. :(

Looks like she may have gone over the top of the front bumper and not damaged it.

There was a guy that had that radiator support listing it on CL for a while, think he wanted $150 for it.
Not sure what PNP would want. Hoods, Fenders are $50 plus each.


Having the manual CC is perfect and with the 4-spd.

Does it have a manual SR or not one at all. no SR is a plus.

Should look good when you are through.



Charlie

You are indeed a good son.
I'm sure your mom will love the car when you're done with it.
Yea, you almost never see euro bumpers. Good Luck!

Jeff

Paid $1100 for it. Yeah the front bumper seems to be fine. the rubber behind it got moved with the accdent, but it looks like it might be salvagable. The car does not have a sun roof, it does have a crach free dash and the cleanest head liner I've ever seen.

As for the bumpers, It think it might be worth getting that one straitened. seeing as its a euro bumper the metal is pretty thin. I'm going to take it off and look at it and see how badly its bent. maybe its something I can simply bend back? I know there is a solid seet bar in the middle, but the chromed metal is thin. I can repair/replace the structual steel if I can take the chrome part off. I've never looked into how to take the bumper appart, but its a 3 piece bumper, the middle section and then the 2 "wing sectoion" that go around the courner of the car. I'm hoping I can take it apart.

If I can't see a way to repair the rear bumper myself I want to get it straitened.

We've got enough money from the insurance check, and with the car being as cheap as it was I'm willing to spend the moeny to get the bumper fixed. as long as its cheaper then a new one on ebay.

I seen this on craigslist....I was wondering about the smog situation......glad it was saved....I was thinking it was extremely clean.....

Euro and no sunroof-now I'm getting jealous. I also totally spaced looking into a sunroof delete when I got my car painted over the summer.

I have a replacement Euro headlight for the pass side (my set has the driver side lens missing) for sale. I also have a parts car with a good core support. I have grills and the other parts you may need as well. Maybe a set of clear corner lights would interest you? Please PM me about parts and also braces for the A/C kits you bought...Rich

After 22 years owning MB sedans equipped with a sunroof/moonroof that was used very seldom, buying a late model used MB w/o a moonroof wasn't a hardship for me. In fact, it's lack of one was a bargaining chip getting a better price..

I am happy to report that Peggy (Nick's mom) and Troy came and picked up the core support, hood and fender today. They drove all the way from Louisiana, and are headed to northern CA (Sacramento?) from here. Even with all the parts, they still had enough room in the back of their Excursion for their large dog crate occupied by their dog (Mastiff puppy!). It was nice to have met them, and I am glad the parts gathering worked out.
BTW Nick, thank your mom again for me for the nice tip!.....Rich

Been spending time with mom, so haven't been online much. But shes been having a great vacation. She enjoyed her stop with ROLLGUY on the way through CA. I was shocked that the dog and the parts all fit in there Excursion! The day after her arrival we spent the afternoon at pick n pull. we got the car a grill, a set of DOT spec corner lights, because only one euro spec corner survived, and some other odds and ends. Today she's working on painting the grill black and polishing up the chrome. The grill we got did not have the star or MB logo, so those will be saved off the old car. Its fun actually working on the car with mom! Thanks Rich and everyone for your help!

Here are the euro lights for moms car. The one on the left is from ebay, the one on the right is mainly from the new car. The one from the car had broken mounting holes so I Frankensteined it together from a "euro parts light" i got from the junk yard some years back. Due to the 3 different euro lights coming together to make these, the gray plastic was faded to all different shades, ranging from light gray to baby poo yellow. So I decided to paint the plastic you see through the lens black. I think this will look sharp along with a black grill on a white car.

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p.../MomsEuros.jpg

I had a set of original black lens surrounds from a different type of headlights, that fit on the W123 lights. Swapped them for the grays as a test and liked the look, for a while.

But I switched back to a more timeless look instead, including a new grille insert.

You're a good son, when my mom had the head gasket done on her 300TE (288k miles), transmission rebuilt last year, rear wheel bearings replaced, new front rotors, new pads all around, among other stuff that added up, she decided to lease a 2014 Hyundai Sonata.

Was this the one on SF craigslist recently?

Nice job on the headlights. I have a classic white w123, and I did the headlights and grille in dark dark grey plus french fog reflectors.

Yep, the car was previously in Marin County. I'm working on the car in Sacramento. This spring my mom will be returning to CA and drive the car home the long way, drive it down the coast to San Diego where her friend lives then east to Louisiana.

Any updates? We have all been on the edge of our seats waiting!!!

Still need that rear bumper or any Euro lights...I ended up getting these parts from the Euro 280e in my previous thread. I would let them go basically at cost to a good home :)

UPDATE!!
 

Some of you have seen some of these pictures before, but I figured I got enough of them to share.

These pics were taken by my friend who owns the body shop. Here is the car on the frame machine getting new parts welded on, and new hood and fender installed. I got these a couple of weeks ago.

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...0557AF9D3E.jpg

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...82314F9A45.jpg

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...53E05E2E70.jpg

I got an update today, here she is in the paint booth ready for paint.

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...B264DA3474.jpg

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...9CA8CCBC4C.jpg

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...BE245D4694.jpg

I'm getting excited! Should be done in a week or so!

I wanna thank Rollguy again for the new parts you see on the car in these pictures.

And I'd like to thank RLGDiesel in advance for the new bumpers that are rolling my way via greyhound!

Shes coming together!!!

Woo hoo! Looks great!

You are quite welcome. I am happy that the parts are getting used for a worthwhile cause. Keep us updated with the progress.......Rich

I got these pictures while at dinner Friday night.
http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...0C0EC52AA5.jpg
http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...06646F0E5F.jpg
http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...F9369499AB.jpg
http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...6CE6CEF4EB.jpg

The car is ready for pick up today. Its still not road worthy yet, need to install the radiator and fan now that the car has a radiator support ;)

I can't wait to see what she looks like! More pics to come!

Looking great!

Did the core support and the underside of the hood get painted as well?

I hope so! My friend who owns the body shop is the one painting it, and he is pretty thorough, but I had the same though when I saw the pictures. I'll know tonight when I go to pick it up.

Picked up the car last night. When we got there the trim was still being installed, so iwrock and myself got busy and helped install trim. I snapped some photos of us working on the car before it left the shop.

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...AB24085FE5.jpg

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...A80994F787.jpg

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...675F07EF7B.jpg

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...F6321760F4.jpg

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...24D6785335.jpg

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...80E0AB8703.jpg

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...B4681E4202.jpg

wow thats a nice paint job!

turning out awesome, really liking the progress. I wish this body shop was over here. :D

Yeah, Anders did an excellent job on the car. I was really surprised with everything he took apart to paint it. He was installing the rear tangle shaped windows when I got there. Last time I saw a 123 painted (by another painter) there was a lot more masking and a lot less trim removal. But thats why I had Anders do the car. His shop is not much to look at from the street. Its in the back of an industrial part of Sacramento near Rio Linda (Rush Limbaugh has made Rio Linda famous) Its not some shops I see around town where there is a nice marble tiled waiting area. Just a shop. He does a lot of work with dealers, so I guess he doesn't need the retail space. I met him through iwrock, and I've taken quite a few cars to him over the years. Never been disappointed. Its hard to find a good body shop.

So how about under the hood and core support? Also, how did he get the drip rail moulding off and on without ruining it?

Did you remove the windshield or just tape around it? The car looks great!

How do I get in contact with him? Are his prices reasonable? I paid over $900 to have the rear tailgate repainted on my wagon and they managed to make the whole backhalf and roof a different color then the front of the car.

Mike, I'll PM you his contact info.

Rich, I'm not sure how he got the drip rail trim off, but I did help him reinstall it. He had a hard rubber block and a dead blow hammer. With a little fineness he got it back on. On the passengers side it was a little stubborn so he used a wooden block and the dead blow. It snapped back into place. He had me hold the trim that was in place while he tapped the places what wouldn't snap it. After a few taps it went back on.

He did paint the new radiator core support. It looks good! the underside of the hood did get painted aswell. He didn't paint the middle, where the hood pad goes, but thats a good thing because its all ready for the new pad to go on. I'll be getting to that soon.

Gator, he didn't pull the windshield or the back glass, he just masked those.

Tonight I got the new fan installed. I forgot to get a fan shroud when I got the fan a few months back. So I get to go to pick n pull this weekend. I found that the brackets that go behind the front bumper were tweaked in the accident. So I spent some time with pliers getting them 90% straight, then painting them. Tomorrow I'm going to install those brackets and get the rest of the front end put together. Well, all but the radiator, I need the dang shroud first.

Sounds like you have the best guy for the job. Doing a quality paint job is not easy, and very time consuming. Removing everything possible is the best way, but unfortunately, most painters do not go through the trouble. As far as masking vs. removing the windshield and back glass, I saw a guy put electrical wire under the outer lip of the rubber, holding the rubber off of the old paint. The rubber was masked and painted as usual. The end result was that the new paint ended up being under the rubber by about 1/8 of an inch when the wire was pulled out. For all intents and purposes, you could not tell that the rubber/glass was not removed. Glad to hear that the core support and under hood were painted. I am jealous now of your mom's car!....Rich

Here are a couple more pictures. Got the front bumper on. Its got a few dings in it, but it looks ok for now. This is the one that came on the car. The bumpers RLGDiesel sent me are still under the bus, somewhere in Tennessee last I checked. I may be chaning it out later, but I'm itching to see this thing complete.

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...1851195678.jpg
http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...4AF8AE4CA0.jpg
http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...ED390930B2.jpg

RollGuy's GTG
 

So, is this car going to make it to Rollguy's GTG??

Jeff

If all goes well I'd like to drive it down. That would be the perfect test drive!

Still not sure if I can make it or not.
What say we try to organize a NorCal caravan to go down:D

Jeff

Thats a great idea. I think Jim B is coming and a few other norcal people.

That car is shaping up nicely. Looks great!

Question: Do you know the color code of the wrecked blue 123? That was a really pretty color.

The insurance company took the car. :( My mom is a bit of a nerd, I'll ask if she took any pictures of the vin plates.

Looks pretty good, can't wait to see the rest of the pics!

Can't believe I missed this thread - I'm like always here...

...looking good!

Got the rest of the car coming together... and some of it taken apart.

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...C0C39C1F64.jpg

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...3E2B90F835.jpg

The car is an 80, so I decided it needed 1980 manifolds. My mom has moved states a few times in the last few years with her job, so I didn't want her to have manifolds with the EGR deleted. Figured it would be better for her to not have to asnwer any questions if anyone should ask. Also she wanted to ad an EGT and boost gauge, so this is a good time to drill and tap the manifold.

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...50F9E79B0C.jpg

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...E74B3B170F.jpg

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...60BF1D0F4B.jpg
manifolds with EGR deleted

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...B32792BD85.jpg
1980 manifolds

Also got rid of that red heater hose and got the correct metal pipe and hoses.

If anyone wants the EGR deleted manifolds, PM me and come pick them up. I'm not going to ship them, but if you wanna stop by, their free :) Or I could being them to the get-togethers that are on the horizon.

On that same note. I went to the Rancho Cordova Pick n Pull and found a 77 240D that had been swaped to a 617 turbo from a 116 SD. Its got the pre EGR manifolds on the car. I took the clips for the radiator, so the rest of the car is still there. It looks like the car has been under a tree for 20 years. lots of spiders and mud dobber nests. Might want to bring a can of Raid with you if your want to pull stuff from the car.

I'll take them if you don't mind. You can bring them with you to the cruise next month. Thanks, Rich

Rich, They're yours!

Thanks! See you at the cruise...Rich

Am I the only one amazed at how cool you mom seems to be? You are building a custom turbo 617 4-speed 123 for her with euro trim, and she no only appears to know what an EGT and boost gauge are, but actually requests them! Incredible.